Owen Hargreaves has said that the England team that had played in the 2006 World Cup was much stronger than the current one.
England had managed to make its way into the quarter finals in the 2006 World Cup.
Hargreaves’ performance in that tournament was brilliant. Although he didn’t score any goal but, his contribution in the midfield was immense.
Hargreaves played a total of 42 matches for England. He featured for his national side for the last time in 2008.
When asked about the current England team, Hargreaves said, “I think this team is not as strong as the team which had represented England in 2006 World Cup. That team was absolutely fantastic.”
“We had a lot of experienced players at that time. We were a settled unit. But, the current team is going through a transitional phase. There are quite a few younger guys in the team and they will take some time to settle.”
“Also, England had a great manager in the form of Sven-Goran Eriksson at that time. I am not saying that the current manager Roy Hodgson is doing a bad job, but, Sven was just fantastic. He was a top class manager.”
When asked if he is satisfied with England’s performance in the World Cup qualifiers so far, Hargreaves said, “I think we have played alright. There have been a couple of games which we should have won, but, as I said, this team is young and we can’t have massive expectations with it.”
“There are some good, young players in the England squad at the moment. Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, they are all highly capable. But, they need some time. After 4-5 years, when these players become experienced, England will be a formidable side.”